Niche Cocoa adds North American facility

摘要

Ghana-based Niche Cocoa is preparing to open its first North American processing facility. The 44,000 square-foot facility, located in Franklin, Wisconsin, is anticipated to be operational by December or January and is projected to process an estimated 1,200 cocoa cake containers annually into cocoa powder and finished chocolate for products ranging from chocolate bars to ice cream. The project is the largest food and beverage investment by an Africa-based company in U.S. history, and the largest Ghana foreign direct investment in Wisconsin, according to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. Niche Cocoa Industry, Ltd. is headquartered in Tema, Ghana. The company is partnering on the project with Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company, a producer of Ghana single-origin, bean-to-bar chocolate.